Memorial Day

Somehow, even though I've always appreciated what the soldiers and sailors have sacrificed for our nation, I still, maybe not consciously, but certainly by my actions, thought of Memorial Day parades as I do all parades: events for the children. After dutifully making it a full family event, I eventually deputized my husband to take the children while I enjoyed a quiet house (with four children barely over four years apart in age, perhaps you can understand the need for that!). But after reading a fascinating book about a vet, including a scene with a Memorial Day parade in which almost no one attends because of the cold, but the aged vet is there, I am realizing that my perspective has been decidedly shallow. While I did feel a surge of emotion as the veterans walked by each year, it never occurred to me what they might think about the level of turnout at a parade, that they might have a need to see that people in their community had not forgotten their sacrifice, or the sacrifice of their comrades. And then another thought struck me while reading an internet article about mothers of fallen troops, and I realized that in milling around in the Memorial Day parade crowds, I might be brushing shoulders with a mother, father, wife, husband, or child of a fallen soldier or sailor. Wouldn’t they also have a need to see that their community was aware of the price they had paid in supporting their loved one in his/her decision to serve? I confess, a lot is happening this week, and I haven’t finished college for the summer yet, so it’s going to be hard to drag myself away this morning. I hope I will, and I hope you will too.

Text is computer generated. Flag Background is from Eureka.